
Retouch jewellery photo holding wax is a common problem of editing jewellery photo. Photographer often use wax to hold the ring standing up or handing the earrings. But usually the wax will cover jewellery design and shape. This tutorial show you how to retouch the wax on the ring and background in photoshop.
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Jewellery retouch tips
- Usually jewellery retoucher will add an empty layer above the background, this way can keep all the retouching on a separate layer. And you can remove or modify if you are not satified with it.
- Highly recommend use pen tool for retouch jewelley photo instead of other selection tool. Recommend Use pen tool to make a selection. A jewellery retoucher always use pen tool to exactly define the outline of the area that want to retouch. Pen tool can correctly define the outline the jewellery or the area you want to retouch. Learn more about Pen tool in adobe.com
- Both Clone Stamp tools and Healing Brush tools can touch up many imperfections in your jewellery photo such as holding wax. but in this tutorial we recommend use Clone stamp tool, because it is easier to touch up detail in the edge area use Clone Stamp tools . Learn more about Clone Stamp tools in adobe.com
Step 1:Use pen tool clipping path for rings bottom
Use the pen tool to clipping path the bottom of the ring, the key is when drawing the path for the parts with the wax, you should restore the ring’s original shape and draw a curve path.

Use pen tool clipping path for the retouch area
Step 2:Convert the path to selection
When drawing path was complete, renamed the path as ‘ring bottom’, then convert the path to selection, By this selection, we can retouch the jewellery holding wax but don’t effect other area. it can protect the other areaTo keep the edges of the retouching area soft so that they blend together smoothly. Set a low Feather Radius of between 1 or 2 pixels when change path to selection.

Step 3:Use clone stamp to retouch the wax on the ring
At first we retouch the holding wax on the ring’ bottom, Select clone stamp tool and make the opacity set to 80%, Set the size of the clone stamp so it will just cover the wax you want to remove.
Making sure the sample option was set to ‘all layers’. Hold down alt (Option on Mac) and clicked to copy the sample point from the area without max, Then brush over the area with max, When brushing the ring bottom, You need carefully to keep the detail of the edge carefully.

Step 4:Use clone stamp to retouch the wax on the background
After removing the wax on the ring. Start to remove the wax on the background, Hold down Ctrl + Shift + I (Cmd + Shift + I on Mac) to Inverse the selection, Useing long continuous brush.Clicked to copy the sample point from the area without max to brush over the max.
Set your brush a little larger than you might otherwise use and just replace the wax in the big area by one fell swoop. And then clean up with a smaller brush for the wax in the edge area.
when retouch the holding wax under the ring and clone the shadow .A good idea is setting the stamp’s blend mode as Darken.
The Clone Stamp tool will only affect light pixels. The wax lighter than the shadow, will be darkened. The darker shadow won’t change.this way is useful to keep the shadow detail and natural.

Use clone stamp to clean the wax on the background
Final effect of retouch jewellery photo holding wax
